Injured Worcs pair return early from Australia

Worcestershire pair Jack Shantry and Jack Manuel have been forced to return early from stints playing club cricket in Australia after suffering injuries.

Left-arm seamer Shantry, the younger brother of Glamorgan’s Adam, suffered a side strain playing for Campbelltown-Camden in Sydney while former England Under-19 batsman Manuel injured a shoulder swimming.

Manuel, who has been playing for Joondalup in Western Australia, is thought to be the more seriously injured but the full extent of the damage will not be known until he returns to England.

Worcestershire have booked Manuel in for scans and an appointment with a specialist on February 14 but he has not yet been able to book himself on a flight home.

Shantry was due back in England on February 11, having decided to return home as a precautionary measure and to be assessed by Worcestershire’s own medical staff.

Both Shantry and Manuel were not due to return to New Road until next month when Worcestershire’s players report back for full-time pre-season training.

With a small squad and financial restraints preventing director of cricket Steve Rhodes bringing in reinforcements, Worcestershire can ill afford to lose Manuel or Shantry for any length of time.

Shantry took 27 wickets in 11 first-class matches in his first full season of county cricket last year. Manuel, a left-hander, played in two one-day and 11 Twenty20 matches but is still awaiting his first-class debut.